Welcome to The Mindful Wanker

This is the first entry in The Mindful Wanker, so I will say a few words about my intentions.

A kind of voyeurism and exhibitionism is part of my motivation, of course: I hope to enjoy relating my own experiences and opinions, passing on stories and perspectives I have heard, and getting feedback from others.

But I have, over the years, developed a real sociological interest in masturbation, its role in peoples' lives, and what it means to society. Wanking is the object of much repression and embarrassment, even among otherwise honest and sex-positive people, and the result is confusion, hypocrisy, and the strange transference behaviors to which repression always leads.

I have a lot of concerns about the state of pornography. While I have no ethical problem with the principle of sexually explicit pictures, pornography as it exists now includes a lot of coercion, hostility, and exploitation. The discussion of these ugly elements to porn is, like so much in contemporary politics, highly polarized, and we are left with only radically pro- and anti-porn positions. I hope to discuss how we can be careful consumers of pornography, in the same way as we can be careful consumers in other areas of our lives.

I do not want this blog to be merely a platform. I very much hope to get feedback, and to
participate in a wider inter-blog discussion on mindful wankery and related subjects.

Culturally speaking, masturbation remains a largely unexplored territory; I'd like to explore it.

What do you think this blog can do? How can I best fulfill those missions? Do you have favorite porn sites that make for fun wanking, without hostility or exploitation? Have links you'd like to share? Opinions or ideas you'd like me to post here? I'd like to hear from you!

-The Mindful Wanker